Colts Observations: Wild Card vs. Chiefs (Did that really happen?)

Wow. Wowedy. Wow. Wow. Wow. That was an incredible game. I was so wired hours afterward that I struggled to get to sleep. Completely unbelievable for this one to have been a game after the way the Colts got pasted early. 38-10? No one comes back from that. No one.

T.Y. Hilton. I watched the game with my father-in-law, who said the Colts have basically two gamebreakers: Donald Brown and T.Y. Hilton. Hilton is the team's only consistent threat in the passing game, and the Chiefs couldn't stop him. The Colts got him involved early on their first drive. He finished the game with 13 catches for 224 yards and two touchdowns, including the game winner. Seems fitting that Hilton scored the team's first touchdown and the last one.

Supporting cast. While Hilton was certainly "the man," several other players stepped up to make big plays on offense. LaVon Brazill had a key grab. Da'Rick Rogers had a game-changing catch that set up a touchdown in the second half. Donald Brown delivered touchdowns by ground and air (and nearly had a third touchdown!). Coby Fleener caught a TD pass and came up big on a key third down. But they couldn't have done it without...

Andrew Luck. This is why the Colts drafted him. This is why the franchise made the toughest decision in all of sports to put the future of the Colts in this man's hands. For approximately 60% of the game, Luck was awful. His interceptions at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second seemed to be the final nails in the coffin. A third interception (which was kind of a fluke, but still counts) also made the comeback more difficult.

But champions are sometimes at their best when they're at their worst. That was the case with Luck, especially in the second half. He somehow erased our collective memory of every mistake with an incredible play. He had QB scrambles. He faked out the entire nation with a zone read that picked up a first down. He found Da'Rick Rogers downfield (and Rogers made an incredible catch). He kept finding T.Y. Hilton. No matter how bad the game got--and let me tell you, it got very, very bad--Luck held to the single-minded belief that he and the Colts would triumph. When the game looked the bleakest, and the Colts stared down a 38-10 deficit in the third quarter, Luck refused to give up. He finished with 443 yards (!), four touchdowns, and three interceptions. He also added 7 rushes for 45 yards and...

One for the ages. There were several memorable moments throughout the game, but the Colts' final two scores will stick with me for a long time. Luck handed the ball off to Brown near the goal line, and everyone gasped as the ball went airborne. It caromed to Luck, who picked it up and dove into the end zone for the score. Technically, it was a fumble recovery touchdown. Realistically, it saved the Colts' season.

And then T.Y. Hilton somehow got wide open for a 64-yard TD pass. Luck threw a frozen rope to Hilton, who badly beat the Chiefs' secondary. It was a perfect throw on a route, I later read, usually used to help clear out the garbage for underneath routes. The score completed the offense's role in the comeback.

Defensive turnaround. In the first half, the Colts defense gave up 31 points. They surrendered 13 points in the second half, and it wasn't always a pretty sight. However, the D stepped up and made plays when they badly needed them. Robert Mathis turned the game around with a sack-fumble (and a recovery that was reviewed, putting everyone on edge...seriously, in the future, just FALL ON THE BALL). And nothing was more vital than Cory Redding's stop on third and goal. Without that play, this would've been a different game. Credit also goes to Josh Gordy for forcing Dwayne Bowe to the sideline on that fourth and 11 play.

Greg Toler's groin. So this guy's been hurt forever. He finally returns to the starting lineup, and I think I could've outrun him. Toler was clearly injured. He gave up a huge pass to Dwayne Bowe (and tried to strip him instead of tackling him, leading to an even bigger gain). Then, he let Donnie Avery run right past him for a huge play. Toler never had a chance on that one. He was truly a liability out there, and it floors me that Indy kept him out there for so long. In other groin news, I don't think Vontae Davis was 100% healthy either. But then again...

At least they weren't the Chiefs. The Chiefs built a huge lead, but they kept losing ground and personnel. Jamaal Charles went out early. Donnie Avery left the game. Justin Houston left the game. Brandon Flowers left the game. Knile Davis (the backup running back) left the game. Losing key players clearly hurt KC. Let's pretend the Chiefs didn't blow a huge lead and won. Who would've played next week?

Speed it up. On their first drive, the Colts pushed the pace, getting up to the line of scrimmage quickly and letting Luck make calls at the line of scrimmage. They continued doing it that way for most of the game, making everyone wonder why they didn't just commit to the strategy earlier in the season.

Trent Richardson. One carry, one fumble. Richardson's turnover was a catalyst for the huge hole the Colts found themselves in. He didn't see much time on the field after that, and he never touched the ball again. I think fans are done waiting for this guy. Oddly enough, I had a dream Friday night that Richardson ran for 150 yards against Kansas City. Some dreams don't come true, kids.

The turnover battle. The Colts lost it. Badly. Luck gave away three interceptions, and each one felt like a soul-crushing turnover at the time. Richardson fumbled before the game got truly ugly. In the end, Indy was -3 in turnover differential. This is a team that prides itself on taking care of the ball and almost always wins the turnover battle. If you're the Chiefs, and you're up 38-10 at one point and force four turnovers, how do you lose the game? That's a question Chiefs fans will be asking for a long time.

Are the Colts the Chiefs' Patriots? As a Colts fan, I've had a quasi-irrational hatred of the New England Patriots for a long, long time. It's not just because they won three Super Bowls or because Tom Brady is an underwear model disguised as a quarterback. My dislike for the Pats goes back to a pair of crushing playoff losses in back-to-back seasons. I wonder if that's how Chiefs fans feel about the Colts. I thought back to the "Lin Elliott Game" in which the KC kicker missed three field goals, leading to a 10-7 win by the Colts at Arrowhead. The Chiefs were the top seed that year. His Wikipedia entry is kind of heartbreaking. During the 2003-2004 season, the Chiefs--the No. 2 seed--lost at home again to the Colts in a game in which neither team punted. And--I nearly forgot this one--the Colts beat them during their Super Bowl run. So basically, it doesn't matter if the quarterback is Jim Harbaugh, Peyton Manning, or Andrew Luck--the Colts have your number, KC.

Hold your breath. The Colts blew a coverage late in the game, allowing running back Cyrus Gray to get wide open down the right sideline. Alex Smith, who'd been on target for most of the day, overthrew him.

Take a knee, take a bow. After a hard-fought defensive stand, the Colts offense took the field in the victory formation. Luck took three knees, the clock ran out, and the Colts completed one of the most unlikely comebacks in NFL history.

Destination unknown...for now. Will it be New England or Denver? We won't know until the Chargers-Bengals game Sunday afternoon. If the Chargers beat the Bengals, then Indy books a trip to visit the Patriots. If the Bengals win, the Colts head to the Mile High City to take on the Broncos. I hear their quarterback is pretty good.

Colts Observations: Week 15 vs. Texans

A first half to be proud of...finally. After several lackluster first-half efforts since the loss of Reggie Wayne, the Colts put together an actual first half with scoring and everything! They looked terrific on their first drive, converting a couple of short third down opportunities on their way to a TD pass from Andrew Luck to Griff Whalen. The Colts spread the field and went no-huddle on the drive, something fans have been screaming for, for weeks. You wanna be a power run team? Fine. Get the pieces and make it effective. When it's clearly not working, you have to make a change. Glad to see it.

GRIFFNATION! I thought Whalen was a guy who could provide a spark for the Colts. His numbers weren't jaw-dropping: 4 catches for 45 yards and 3 punt returns for 67 yards. Still, he gave the Colts some plays they sorely needed, including a TD grab and a 51-yard punt return that set up a field goal. Look, I know Whalen isn't going to physically dominate anyone. I know he's not the Flash out there. I get it. I still think it's worth having him out there as a third or fourth receiver because he has good hands and is someone Luck won't hesitate to throw it to.

A good win, but... The cynic in me has to come out on this win at least a little bit. While it was good to see the Colts put together a good all-around performance (and their best game since the win vs. Denver), we have to remember it came against a Texans team that hasn't won a game since September. The Texans have lost 12 games in a row and have never beaten the Colts in Indianapolis (not even during the Kerry Collins-Curtis Painter-Dan Orlovsky "Era!"). They've fired their coach and are inexplicably in line for the top pick in the draft. Despite the many great pieces on this team--Andre Johnson, J.J. Watt, etc.--they were listless and terrible. I do think the Colts played with some extra fire, but it's hard to gauge this win. A truer test will be next week against Kansas City.

A day of firsts. GRIFFNATION caught his first career TD pass. Bjoern Werner notched his first (full) career sack. Trent Richardson caught his first TD pass as an Indianapolis Colt. Antoine Bethea downed Case Keenum for his first sack of the year. The Colts got contributions from guys when they sorely needed to build some momentum toward the postseason.

Darius Butler. Remember Case Keenum's first start against the Colts when he threw for 350 yards and three touchdowns? Well, that didn't happen this week. The Colts made Keenum look purely pedestrian, although that's been pretty much the norm for him over the last five games (2 touchdowns, 6 interceptions over that span). They hurried and harassed him, and no one dogged him more than Darius Butler, who picked off two of Keenum's passes and darn near had a third that would've been a pick six. The Colts secondary was physical and stingy overall, and Butler was a major factor in that. He was also credited with three passes defensed.

Trent Richardson. I'm not ready to pop the champagne here. But after a decent game last week, Richardson built on that against the Texans. He had a couple big catches and broke a couple runs. The consistency isn't there yet (well, I guess it is, since we're all used to a good one-, two-yard plunge into the line of scrimmage...), but I saw some potential there. Tough running, evasiveness, more decisiveness. It wasn't there on every play...he still got buried plenty of times. Still, there was something positive to take away from this game when it comes to Richardson, and I'll take it.

DHB on special teams. The Colts pretty much conceded that DHB was a bust when they handed Da'Rick Rogers playing time. They further diminished DHB's role this week, when I saw him play on special teams. I think he was out on the field in some passing formations, but his role was severely limited. The Colts went primarily with T.Y. Hilton (who had his best game in weeks), Rogers, and Griff Whalen in the receiving corps. We also saw a good bit of Jack Doyle and Weslye Saunders as second tight ends/fill-ins for the injured Stanley Havili.

Better line play. Without really scrutinizing the game, I think the line play was better for the Colts. The unit seems to perform better with Mike McGlynn at center (instead of Samson Satele at center with McGlynn at guard). Joe Reitz started in McGlynn's usual guard spot, but ended up leaving the game with an injury. Xavier Nixon stepped in and seemed to play well. Luck was hit less this week (and Pep Hamilton rolled him out several times) and seemed to have a solid pocket for most of the game. He was sacked one time.

Pressure! The Colts called a very aggressive game on defense. They brought in Bethea on a couple of safety blitzes and generally did a good job of putting heat on Keenum. Bjoern Werner came in unblocked for a sack while Erik Walden, Cory Redding, and Bethea also had sacks. The Colts were in Keenum's face all day, sacking him four times and hitting him eight.

Fake punt? Double reverse? The Colts tried some different things this week, including an odd fake punt near midfield and a double reverse that gained nothing. I liked how the team tried to change things up a couple times. With their playoff position assured, they're trying to work out the kinks before the postseason.

Speaking of the playoffs... The Colts are the fourth seed right now, but losses from the Patriots and the Bengals opened the door for the Colts to get the second or third seed. The former isn't likely to happen, but if they could climb to the third spot, they'd host the last team to get into the playoffs instead of Kansas City or Denver.

Second half coma. The Colts were not very exciting in the second half, but they didn't have to be. We saw some good things from Richardson after Donald Brown left the game with a stinger. The defense was rock-solid, so no complaints there. I'd prefer that the Colts had a more efficient second half on offense (they were abysmal in third down situations and produced only a field goal thanks to a punt return by Whalen and a safety from...the defense).

Da'Rick Rogers, week 2. Not a whole lot to say about Rogers in his second week. He caught a pair of passes for 23 yards and ran once for no gain. He wasn't likely to have a big game after last week, but a lot of fans wanted more. By the way, Coby Fleener was only targeted once this week and finished without a single catch.

T.Y. Hilton. The first pass of the game went to T.Y., and it was clear the Colts figured him into their game plan this week. He had a fantastic grab on a 41-yard catch and dropped a ball that looked like it would've gone for a long way. He finished with eight catches for 78 yards.

Saving the best for last. Fans should take the time to enjoy watching Robert Mathis. He set the franchise's single-season and career sack marks when he blindsided Keenum for a signature sack-fumble that resulted in a safety. The play recalled Mathis' sack-fumble-safety of Peyton Manning in the Broncos game. Many are making the case for Mathis as Defensive Player of the Year, and he certainly has my (non-existent) vote.

Colts Observations: Week 13 vs. Titans

Division within reach. Barring an epic collapse, the Colts will win the AFC South. They have a three-game lead over the Titans and hold the tiebreaker. Essentially, the Colts would have to lose their last four games and the Titans would have to sweep their last four for the Colts to miss out on a division title.

Vintage "Money." Adam Vinatieri nailed five field goals for the Colts (with a long of 49 yards). On a day when the offense stalled repeatedly, the Colts needed Vinatieri to come through, and he did. He's having a fantastic season.

The turnover battle. The Colts forced four turnovers: three interceptions and a fumble (all from Ryan Fitzpatrick). Cassius Vaughn--relegated to third cornerback after a couple rough starts in place of Greg Toler--picked off two passes. Indy turned the ball over early in the game after a pass from Andrew Luck went off T.Y. Hilton's hands and bounced into the hands of a waiting Titans defender. The Colts defense forced a punt.

Thank you, Jerrell Freeman. The linebacker was all over the place Sunday, finishing with nine tackles and asked to cover Chris Johnson when Tennessee split their running back out wide a few times. He saved his best play for last, picking off a Fitzpatrick pass as the Titans tried to rally for a touchdown and two-point conversion to send the game to OT. Freeman also recovered a fumble after a sack by Robert Mathis.

Why is Darrius Heyward-Bey a professional football player for the Indianapolis Colts? Hey, it worked last week with David Reed. DHB drew a couple pass interference penalties and caught a pass for 23 yards. Those were his good things. He also got buried for an 11-yard loss on an ill-advised running play, was whistled for offensive pass interference (in his defense, the call was iffy), and--in glorious DHB style--dropped a pass that killed a potential touchdown drive. Sigh.

Donald Brown gets the start. Honestly, he should've started last week on the heels of his great second half against this same Tennessee team. He didn't do much until the last drive, finishing with a relatively unimpressive 14 carries for 54 yards and a TD. The key is when the bulk of those yards came--Brown had 46 yards on the game-clinching drive.

Luck uses his legs. His offensive line can't protect him. His receivers can't get open, and when they do, they drop passes. Luck showed that extra dimension he can bring to the offense when he scrambled for 32 yards on the last drive. He was the team's second-leading rusher, scrambling five times for 42 yards.

Still can't Protect the Franchise. The Colts offensive line is abysmal. Luck got dropped five times; there was an occasion or two in which he held onto the ball too long, but most of this goes on the offensive line. What does this tell us? Despite opening the checkbook and making big moves, the Colts and GM Ryan Grigson failed in their primary mission to protect Andrew Luck. Swapping out Mike McGlynn for Jeff Linkenbach didn't make a noticeable difference.

Richardson demoted. It just hasn't worked out. The Colts made a splash by pulling the trigger on the Richardson trade, and I don't think the "jury is still out" on this one. The Colts have gotten about as much from this former first-round pick as they could've gotten out of a guy from the scout team at the cost of next year's first-round pick. It's expensive mediocrity, even though I'd really like to see him prove me wrong. Earlier, it looked like Donald Brown was being successful because the Colts ran him in certain situations (and with more spread formations). Lately, though, Brown has hit the hole hard in the power formations and found success.

Time to unleash Da'Rick Rogers. Since the Colts are getting nothing from DHB, it's time to give Da'Rick Rogers more playing time. Even though DHB "knows the offense," it doesn't matter because he's not a reliable target. Rogers may suck; I have no idea. But the truth is that he can't hurt the team anymore than DHB. And maybe, just maybe, he'll find himself in the right place and catch the football.

Goal line stand. The Colts stiffened when the Titans tried to get the ball into the endzone from the two. They stuffed Tennessee three times before a little gimmick/misdirection pass resulted in a touchdown. By the way, when you watch that play at regular speed, it kind of looks like Chris Johnson dropped the ball and "didn't complete the catch." It looks a lot different on the replay.

Robert Mathis: Master of the Sack-Fumble. Robert Mathis is having a season for the ages. The Colts pass rush didn't do much Sunday, but Mathis forced a sack-fumble after getting around the edge and knocking the ball away from Fitzpatrick. The Colts ended up salvaging a field goal from the drive.

Your free gift: three points! As time wound down in the first half, the Titans' Moise Fokou (a former Colt) decided to level Stanley Havili. If he'd kept his cool, the half would've ended because T.Y. Hilton caught a pass in bounds and the Colts were out of timeouts. Instead, the idiotic penalty put the Colts in prime position for a field goal.

Return change. With David Reed gone, the Colts turned the return game over to Chris Rainey, who handled both kickoffs and punts. He wasn't measurably more effective than Reed on kickoffs. Rainey filled in on punts for T.Y. Hilton and turned in a nice return for 18 yards. On the flip side, he also muffed a punt return. Thankfully, special teams standout Sergio Brown was there to recover and advance. Brown has quietly had a fantastic season in the third phase of the game.

Ain'tcha ever comin' back, ain'tcha? What's the deal with Greg Toler? The Colts haven't put him on injured reserve and he's been "trending in the right direction" for approximately forever now. The secondary hasn't been the same since Toler's been out. I hope he returns to the lineup soon, because I could think of a few positions that could use that roster spot.

Colts Observations: Week 12 vs. Cardinals

Basically, take my Week 10 Observations vs. the Rams and put it on Arizona time.

Beyond slow starts. The problems with this team go beyond the slow starts. Neither the offense nor the defense can get much traction. The defense can't get stops, the offense can't answer, the defense falters again, ditto the offense. It's a vicious cycle that continues to repeat.

No running game. The Colts lacked any semblance of a running game although it's really impossible to gauge it because they fell so far behind so quickly that the team was relegated to letting Andrew Luck get killed in the pocket. Trent Richardson did have that eight-yard run, so "he's arrived."

Where have you gone, Vontae Davis? The most puzzling thing over the last several games has been the complete and utter collapse of the secondary. During the first part of the season, Vontae Davis looked like an All Pro. Now he's just burnt toast week in and week out. Could Greg Toler's injury have that big of an impact on the whole secondary? It's hard to say, but they haven't been the same since he went down. Davis also suffered a groin injury in the second half.

Samson Satele caught a pass. That's one more than David Reed. Speaking of which...

Why is David Reed a professional football player for the Indianapolis Colts? This guy shows nothing. His kickoff return judgment was better this week, but the Colts went with only four active receivers (T.Y. Hilton, Lavon Brazill, Darrius Heyward-Stonehands, and Reed). Reed showed nothing. Don't ask me why the Colts elevated Da'Rick Rogers to the roster, sent Griff Whalen to the practice squad, and signed Chris Rainey as a return guy so we could have approximately 85 tight ends, use Reed as a kickoff returner and useless fourth receiver, and make Rogers and Rainey game day inactives. Seriously, don't ask me because I don't have the answer.

Sergio Brown had some fun. The Colts' special teams ace blocked a field goal when the game was actually a game and pushed a Cardinals player into his own return guy, which was kind of funny.

Robert Mathis sacked Carson Palmer. Mathis now has 14.5 sacks on the season after a sack-and-strip on Palmer (that's a career high). Because no one else got any penetration, there were about 85 Cardinals around to recover the fumble. I like the number 85 for some reason today.

Ricky Jean Francois showed up. This is notable only because no one else did. Jean Francois finished with a pair of sacks and thrilled us all with an overly enthusiastic celebratory dance while his team was down by about 85 points.

67-44. This is a statistical category the Colts actually won: their number of tackles (67) compared to the Cardinals' (44).

71-55. And this is why the Colts had so many tackles: the Cardinals ran 71 offensive plays to the Colts' 55. The time of possession, by the way, favored the Cardinals (36:49 to 23:11).

The game was over when... Well, pretty much when the Cardinals scored their first touchdown. Any hopes of a miraculous comeback vanished when the Colts failed to muster any points on their opening drive of the second half. Look, I knew they weren't coming back, and you knew they weren't coming back, but that's the point that sealed it.

Rally sons of Notre Dame... Michael Floyd had 7 catches for 104 yards. Nice to see a Golden Domer playing well. Not as nice to see it happen against the Colts.

Coby Fleener caught a touchdown. Luck targeted him 8 times. Fleener caught 4 passes for 55 yards and a touchdown. He was also the target on the ill-advised pass that led to a Cardinals TD return.

Get up, T.Y. Get up! T.Y. Hilton was down for several minutes after diving for a pass. He eventually returned.

7-4. The Colts still control the AFC South and can cement their place by beating the Titans next week at home. I have no idea which team will show up, but the Colts team that beat the 49ers is a distant memory.

Colts Observations: Week 10 vs. Rams

Well, that escalated quickly. Really, all the Rams needed was Chris Long's fumble return for a touchdown. It was all downhill from there. The Colts looked clueless, punchless, gutless, and unprepared.

Robert Mathis got a couple of sacks. No. 98 was about the only player who had any production on defense. He now has 13.5 on the season.

You know, it's okay to play with a lead. The Legend of Andrew Luck has built itself on the Comeback Win. That's fine. That's thrilling. That's nerve-wracking and simultaneously enjoyable. That said, I'd like to point out that it's okay to come out swinging early in the game and jump on the opponent. You don't always have to be the team that gets stomped on, picks itself up, and wins in the end.

Matt Hasselbeck sighting! Honestly, I think the Colts should've subbed Luck out earlier. He was getting battered and beaten by the Rams defense with no hope of winning the game. The only thing you risk by keeping him in a game that was clearly lost--I mean, the Colts had zero things go right in this one--is an injury. Concede that Luck's not on his game, and stick Hasselbeck in there earlier.

In the time it took to get a bowl of chili, Tavon Austin scored a touchdown. I watched the game at my in-laws' house. I went upstairs to get a bowl of chili, and when I came down to the basement Tavon Austin had scored on a 57-yard pass. I got back downstairs just in time to see the Rams kick the extra point.

How's the running game? Pretty sucky, but then again, so were the Colts.

Vontae Davis transforms into David Macklin. Vontae Davis has had a couple really rough games in a row. He couldn't contain Andre Johnson last week. This week's debacle was Tavon Austin, who did just about anything he wanted. Reminded me of the "good ol' days" when David Macklin routinely got beat deep.

Suck for Luck? More like Suck is Luck. Andrew Luck clearly wasn't himself. Go back and look at that first half--he missed a lot of throws. I can think of a pass to T.Y. Hilton that would've gone for a huge gain and a couple high overthrows to Coby Fleener that would've sustained drives. No. 12 had an "off" game, and his usually sound decision making was a disaster.

Which is worse: Darrius Heyward-Bey or Trent Richardson? I'm going with DHB on this one. I don't think it would've made any difference in this game, but DHB dropped a third down pass that went right through his hands and bounced off his chest. You just can't trust the guy. Richardson, by the way, averaged a meaty 0.4 yards per carry. He also caught three passes for 33 yards.

#GRIFFNATION. Three catches for 36 yards for Griff Whalen. I keep hearing things like he's "average" and "Griff Whalen is just Griff Whalen" and "he's nothing special." I refuse to believe these things. He also got rocked on a 25-yard catch late in the game. I BELIEVE, people. I BELIEVE IN GRIFFNATION.

About that punt return... As it unfolded, you couldn't believe it. It looked harmless enough and then Tavon Austin took it the distance. The return was pretty much a microcosm of this disastrous game.

The division. The Colts have no time to sulk about this one--they're up on Thursday Night Football this week. They'll take on the Tennessee Titans in Nashville. The Colts have a chance to get some distance in the AFC South with a win. An unlikely victory from Jacksonville preserved the Colts' two-game lead on the Titans. I think that result is just as jaw-dropping as the St. Louis-Indianapolis final.

A truly offensive line. They can't run block. They can't protect The Franchise. If I were an Indianapolis Colts lineman right now, I'd be completely embarrassed. The Rams were in the backfield all day, stuffing the run and punishing Luck. True, Indy didn't think Donald Thomas would get hurt, but it's clear this unit is struggling.

Take a knee. Take a knee! Kickoff returns were a joke this week (and they have been much of the season). David Reed refused to take a knee on several occasions, getting buried well behind the 20-yard line on multiple occasions (and trust me, thanks to the Rams' score-a-palooza, there were plenty of kickoff return opportunities). One of the loudest cheers from the crowd came when Reed finally conceded a touchback.

Five turnovers. Most of these came in garbage time (let's define garbage time as "after the first quarter"), but the Colts turned it over five times. One led to a touchdown; three others were interceptions near the goal line.

And it could've been worse. Don't forget that St. Louis fumbled in the red zone early in the game. That drive should've produced points.

Colts Observations, Week 7 vs. Broncos

Heroic Homecoming. The video tribute to Peyton Manning was a thing of beauty. For the most part, I've dealt with his departure well, but seeing him get a warm reception from the fans and realizing it had an impact on him got to me. Peyton Manning is a great quarterback who, if circumstances had accommodated, would've played his entire career with the Colts. But his injury, his contract, a terrible season, and the chance to pick the next franchise quarterback all factored into the decision to let him go. He's found a good home in Denver, but he'll always be a Colt and we'll always love him.

This one belonged to the defense. Denver has been pretty much unstoppable all season, yet the Colts slowed them down, particularly in the first half. While Peyton went off in the second half, the defense came up with two timely turnovers that preserved the game. I know Indy gave up 33 points, but they played big when they needed to.

Won't lose back-to-back games. The best thing I can say about the new regime is that they're resilient. After a lackluster performance last week, the Colts responded with a huge game in prime time. In front of a national audience, the city welcomed Manning back while the "new" Colts showed how they want to win games. This win was major in the suddenly muddled AFC and helped the Colts take a two-game lead in the division.

Andrew Luck. His first half numbers were huge, while his second half numbers weren't. Still, the Colts quarterback showed the grit and mettle we've become accustomed to, staying elusive in the pocket and picking up yards with his legs when necessary. The guy needs to take some sliding lessons, though. He looked like a wounded baby gazelle on ice the one time he slid.

Robert Mathis. After years of having Manning in a red shirt that made him untouchable, Robert Mathis got to sack Manning twice, including a game-changing sack/fumble that resulted in a safety and completely turned the game around. Mathis was credited with four quarterback hits for the game, and when Denver left him one-on-one with a lineman, he typically made them pay.

Conflicted fans. This was one of the weirder games I've ever watched, and I got the sensation that the crowd felt the same way. Some people wanted Manning to come back and kick the Colts' butt, others wanted to see him play a good game but lose, and I'm sure there were some out there who wanted the Colts to dominate the game. I think, oddly enough, the game managed to hit all those points.

Running away with it. At one point, the Colts looked like they were going to run away with this one. They led 36-17 after Adam Vinatieri nailed a 52-yard field goal. Colts fans were feeling it, and the Broncos looked too out of sync to manage a comeback.

Not running away with it. Then, the game turned. Denver scored back-to-back touchdowns and the Colts were clinging to a lead. Just like that, it looked like Peyton was going to out-Peyton his old team.

Trent Richardson. I keep looking for good things to say, but I have to look really hard. Every time he gets the ball, he gets buried by the defense. Sunday night, he had 14 carries for 37 yards and a fumble that turned a convincing win into a nail-biter. Is it going to click for this guy? On a third and one play in the first half, Denver stacked about 80 guys in the box. This would've been a perfect time for some play action or misdirection, but they ran a power play and Richardson went nowhere.

3rd and 11. Nothing was bigger than Andrew Luck's third down scramble that turned into a first down. The play set up a touchdown to Stanley Havili, giving the Colts the lead for the first time of the night.

Laying down the #Boomstick. Pat McAfee lived the dream, absolutely unloading on diminutive Broncos punt returner Trindan Holliday in Mario Harvey fashion. Not too long ago, the Boomstick was the Colts' leading special teams tackler, so it's good to see he's still got good form.

The Fleener Drive. The defense got a huge stop just before halftime, and Luck led the team on a big touchdown drive to go up 26-14. The big factor in that drive, shockingly, was Coby Fleener, who caught three passes for 31 yards, including a 21-yard reception in which he helicoptered over Broncos defenders (without fumbling). The drive ended with a walk-in eight-yard TD catch. After dropping a sure touchdown last week, it was a big rebound for Fleener in a crucial situation.

Kevin Vickerson is a terrible human being. By my count, Kevin Vickerson was flagged for three big penalties (twice for taking his helmet off in the field of play if I recall correctly). The biggest bonehead play of the night was his loving "chest bump" on Andrew Luck on a second and eight incompletion. The penalty got the Colts out of bad field position and awarded them a first down when chomping clock was key. It was a stupid play; Vickerson clearly had time to pull up and then decided he'd knock Luck down instead with a little chest bump action to show us all how tough he really was. The bonehead got what he deserved, and if I were the Broncos, I'd cut him immediately.

The Never-Ending Punt. The Colts tried really hard to punt at the end of the game, but penalties kept taking time off the clock. Here's the line:

4th and 8 at IND 22 - P.McAfee punts 56 yards to DEN 22, Center-M.Overton, fair catch by T.Holliday. PENALTY on IND-M.Overton, Offensive Holding, 10 yards, enforced at IND 22 - No Play.

4th and 18 at IND 12 - P.McAfee punts 44 yards to DEN 44, Center-M.Overton. T.Holliday pushed ob at IND 45 for 11 yards (D.Herron). Penalty on IND-S.Havili, Offensive Holding, offsetting, enforced at IND 12 - No Play. Penalty on DEN-A.Caldwell, Defensive Holding, offsetting. Penalty on DEN-S.Johnson, Illegal Block Above the Waist, declined.

After all this, the Colts took a timeout so their beleaguered special teams unit could take a breath. Al and Cris joked that the whole thing was great for the Colts because they took something like 30 seconds off the clock.

Vontae Davis thought he was playing the Patriots. In the post game interview, when asked how the Colts prepared, Vontae Davis said it's always a challenge getting ready for a great quarterback like Tom Brady. Vontae Davis the cornerback is a great player; Vontae Davis the post game interviewee is an idiot. Hard to say too much bad about him, though. He was phenomenal one-on-one.

Fumble? Not a fumble? Who recovered it? What is going on? Please, someone tell me. I had no idea what was going on when the Broncos fumbled in the red zone in the fourth quarter. Al Michaels didn't know what was going on. Cris Collinsworth didn't know what was going on. Then, all of a sudden, they said the referees gave the ball to Indy, yet we never really saw or heard a call down on the field. Then, they said the Colts couldn't challenge the play because they couldn't prove they had possession. A second later, they suggested maybe John Fox would challenge the play since the Colts had recovered (leading me to say, "There was a fumble? The Colts recovered? What are you talking about?!"). But turnovers are automatically reviewed up in the booth, so I think Al and Cris were just filling airtime. I don't know. I'm still confused.

Ten defensive backs? Could we have fifteen? Injuries mounted in the second half, with Darius Butler, Josh Gordy, and Vontae Davis all getting nicked up. This helped Denver find some holes in the passing game, as a few players were in unexpected situations and/or a little gimpy while trying to cover their guy.

Reggie Wayne Knee Watch, Day 1. Really, the fourth quarter was bad for the Colts. Nothing was worse than seeing Reggie Wayne go down on a big third and one play. He clutched his knee, howled in pain, and was inconsolable on the sideline. I hope it's just a sprain, but it didn't look good. Reggie's an iron man; hell, he's Ageless Reggie Wayne. The guy brings it every practice and every game. Luck and the Colts need him if they hope to make a playoff run. We'll be thinking about ya, No. 87. I also wonder what Peyton thought when Reggie went down. I know that's something he didn't want to see.

Crazy finish. About midway through the third quarter, it didn't look like the phrase "onside kick" would mean much, but Peyton kept things close.

DHB still can't catch a cold. Man. He's fast, he gets open, and he can't come up with the big play. Maybe, like Fleener, he'll find redemption. For now, though, he's simply a fast guy with mediocre receiving skills who makes the occasional play.

Great pass rush. The Colts were all over Peyton, hitting him ten times and sacking him on four occasions. They were able to get pressure in key situations, including a sack that led to a safety and another pressure that forced an interception. The defense also brought Manning down on the Broncos' final drive of the game, forcing a field goal and a desperate onside kick.

Erik Walden was a factor. Repeat: Erik Walden was a factor. For the first time this season, Erik Walden factored into the game. When Denver finally made sure to double Mathis, Walden got some one-on-one opportunities, including a pressure that hit Manning's arm, resulting in an errant pass that Pat Angerer intercepted.

LaRon Landry: The Cleaner. Landry was all over the place. It's been unnerving to see him miss so much time since the Colts made him a big free agent acquisition, but he certainly has a presence on defense. His ability to make open-field tackles on short pass plays is uncanny and prevented at least a couple Denver first downs.

Defense and special teams. I don't know if you followed the pregame hype, but Colts owner Jim Irsay suggested that maybe the Colts didn't put as much emphasis on defense and special teams as they should have when Peyton played for Indy. What I got from it was that Peyton was such a good quarterback, he covered up those inadequacies. Those comments kind of became a big deal. It seemed fitting that defense and special teams factored so heavily into the Colts' success in this game. Manning, meanwhile, plugged away as always, throwing for 386 yards and three touchdowns. If only his bonehead teammates (Kevin Vickerson and Ronnie Hillman, I'm looking at you) could get out of his way.

Fourth and two! C'mon, show it! During the pregame show, several of the commentators shared some of their favorite Peyton Manning memories. Hines Ward regaled us with tales of the infamous game in which Mike Vanderjagt missed a field goal so badly, the ball still hasn't returned from the Phantom Zone. Collinsworth reminded us all of the great "Fourth and Two" game in which Bill Belichick, stuck with a crappy defense and a red-hot Manning, went for it on fourth and two deep in Patriots territory. The result: Kevin Faulk bobbled the ball and the Colts made the stop. Manning ended up winning the game. Unfortunately, they never showed a replay, but I had this tucked away in the archives:



Finally, our national nightmare is over. Peyton came back, the fans welcomed him, he almost pulled off a signature comeback, Andrew Luck answered his ten millionth question about what it's like to replace a legend, Peyton answered his twenty millionth question about what it's like to be back home, and we can stop talking about it for the rest of the year...unless the Colts and Broncos meet in the playoffs. Sigh.

Colts Observations, Week 4 at Jaguars

Like clubbing a baby seal. Or jaguar. Sometimes, games in which your team destroys the opponent are fun to watch. This wasn't the case. Early in the fourth quarter, I really hoped the Colts would just end it:

Can the #Colts just take a knee to burn the 12:52 left in this unwatchable game?

— Matt Adams (@statomatty) September 29, 2013

While they couldn't take a knee to run out the rest of the clock for the entire game (I think the NFL needs to explore that as an option), the Colts chomped more than seven minutes of clock on the drive. The scoring drive before that, by the way, took more than eight minutes. Between those two drives, the Colts held the ball for the equivalent of more than a quarter in game time.

Ageless Reggie Wayne. Five catches, 100 yards, touchdown. Reggie Wayne again showed how much he loves playing Jacksonville. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention a gorgeous diving catch by No. 87. We didn't see a replay because the announcers were too busy talking about a roughing the passer penalty against Jason Babin, but it was a tremendous catch. Vintage Reggie...he ages like a fine wine.

Maurice Jones-Who? The Jaguars running back who's usually great at churning up yards against the Colts managed just 23 yards on 13 carries. It stinks to see such a good player saddled with such a terrible team. I'll feel bad about it when he's not playing the Colts.

Bad, Bad Donald Brown? I thought we'd see a bit more Donald Brown with Ahmad Bradshaw out this week, but Brown played sparingly. When he did get in, he broke off a 50-yard run that set up a touchdown by Trent Richardson.

Richardson, week 2. With Bradshaw out, Richardson got the bulk of the carries. He still seemed a little hesitant and danced too much behind the line of scrimmage for a power back. Still, we saw some flashes, including a 12-yard run. He also fumbled on a play in which he didn't actually fumble due to something about a whistle blowing. Richardson carried 20 times for 60 yards (3.0 yards per carry). He needs to get that average up, and I think he will. He was also pretty good in blitz pickups.

Jaguars offense or Colts defense? I humbly submit to you the following:



That, ladies and gentlemen, is the drive chart for your Jacksonsville Jaguars. I thought they might be able to eke out a win or two at best this season, but after seeing them play in person, I'm not so sure. To make an obvious observation, the Jaguars are a terrible football team and I give credit to all Colts staff members and players who were able to say "we respect our opponent" with a straight face.

My notes on the Jags' third drive, which pretty much sums up the football team:

Jordan Todman for one yard. Gabbert to Shorts for a first down and a 15-yard catch. Went up and got it on a high throw. Personal foul by the Jags. Same yard marker, but a first down. Weird. Then, 12 men in the huddle on the Jags. First and 15. Jags fever, catch it. Denard Robinson gets the ball in the backfield, ruled fumble originally then ruled incomplete pass. Second and 15. Geez. Gabbert underneath to MJD for five yards. Third and 10. Pressure forces Gabbert out of the pocket, flag down for offensive holding. Declined. Fourth down, Jaguars will punt. Jaguars fever, catch it. False start against the Jags before the punt. Of course.

At one point, they had 67 yards of total offense.

Sigh.

Dominant defense. Even though Jacksonville is barely a professional football team in the sense of the words "professional" and "team," many of their offensive struggles can be attributed to a stellar Colts defense. There simply wasn't much there early in the game. Indy stuffed the run, put tight coverage on the Jags' receivers, and put pressure on Gabbert. It's hard to gauge just how good they actually were given the opponent...however, coupled with last week's defensive performance against the 49ers, I can definitively say the Colts' D is coming together.

The facemask that wasn't. Late in the game, Eric Walden was flagged for a facemask penalty in which his hand clearly got the crown of the runner's helmet instead of the facemask. I think we can live with the mistake.

A lot of penalties. The Colts were flagged seven times against Jacksonville. They haven't been penalized a ton this year, so that was weird. The Jaguars racked up nine penalties, including four on a single soul-crushing drive.

Fleener? Fleener. Coby Fleener had a fantastic game, catching five passes for 77 yards and a touchdown. On the scoring play, Jacksonville didn't even bother to cover him. Normally, I'd say that was a mistake, but it's clear the Jags watched game film on Fleener and didn't feel he was a true threat in the passing game. One day, I'll say something nice about him and mean it.

Slow start. The Colts didn't exactly light it up on offense early in the game. In fact, they were pretty bad. Luck was under pressure, he and T.Y. Hilton clearly weren't working from the same playbook, throws were off-target, and the running game was MIA. The first three drives went: punt, interception, punt. The first drive should've ended in an interception, but the Jaguars were offsides, negating the turnover (of course). The good news is that the defense surrendered only a field goal after giving good field position to Jacksonville. Over the last two games, the Colts defense has only surrendered 10 points.

Vontae Davis. Davis emerged last year as the Colts' top cover corner, and he showed why this week. He made a beautiful interception on a good throw, broke up a third down pass (and a few others), and tipped a ball that led to an interception and a TD return by Darius Butler. The Colts secondary is as good as I've ever seen it (three picks in Sunday's game). Again, I have to temper my enthusiasm due to the competition, but they were all over the place.

Sacks machine. Robert Mathis, who's in his 11th season, showed this transition from defensive end to outside linebacker was no problem. He notched three sacks. Four games into the season, Mathis is credited with 7.5 sacks. The dude can ball, and it's been a pleasure to watch. He was all over Gabbert.

1-2-3-4 pressure! The Colts hit Gabbert nine times and sacked him four times (Cory Redding was credited with the other sack). They had him seeing pressure even when it wasn't coming. Lots of ice packs after this one, I bet.

Weird drive. This is the only way to describe the series of events leading to Adam Vinatieri's 46-yard field goal. Trent Richardson kept a rusher from getting to Luck, who evaded and lofted a ball to Reggie Wayne. No. 87 made an incredible catch, except it wasn't a catch because he lost control of the ball right in front of the Jaguars bench. Jacksonville challenged and won. Next play, Luck found the Ageless One for 31 yards and a first down. Four plays later, Luck hit Reggie in the back of the endzone with a laser beam for a touchdown...except it wasn't. Jeff Linkenbach was flagged for illegal use of hands. Stanley Havili was buried for a two-yard loss on a pass. Luck was sacked for a 10-yard loss, making it 3rd and 32. The Colts elected to kick a 51-yard field goal...except the Jaguars jumped offides, making it a 46-yard attempt. Vinny nailed it. Sheesh.

The negatives? The Colts weren't perfect, but no football team is. Still, they were out of sync early (especially Luck and Hilton). The Jags were able to get pressure on Luck (they had two sacks and, more alarmingly, 10 quarterback hits). Their first score, a 22-yard field goal, was a major letdown. On first and goal at the four, the Colts and the Vaunted Power Running Game that Led to the Trent Richardson Trade passed three times in a row. Obviously, not a ton to really complain about in a 37-3 romp, but I'm calling it as I see it.

Rush to judgment. Haggles about the running game aside, the Colts have rushed for 100+ yards in each game this year: 127 yards vs. Oakland, 133 yards vs. Miami, 184 yards vs. San Francisco, and 154 yards vs. Jacksonville. They've outrushed opponents 598 yards to 451 yards. Against the Jags, they held the ball for 36:38 while Jacksonville had it for 23:22.

Thank you, Seattle. Or, more properly, just the Texans bein' the Texans. The Seattle Seahawks rebounded from a 17-point deficit to beat the Houston Texans. Matt Schaub threw a late interception that the Seahawks returned for a touchdown. This sent the game into overtime, which the Texans lost because they're the Texans. Now, the Colts and Titans are atop the AFC South with Indy hosting Seattle next week.

Colts Observations, Week 1 vs. Raiders

"The Mayor" runs for office. The Colts signed Ahmad Bradshaw in the offseason to bolster the running game, but second-year 'back Vick Ballard emerged as the starter. He was effective, running 13 times for 63 yards--very close to the Colts' desired average of 5.0 yards per carry (Ballard was at 4.8 YPC). I loved Ballard last year, and the 2013-2014 campaign looks promising.

Little bit of Bradshaw. We really didn't see much from Ahmad Bradshaw. He had seven carries, got dropped for a loss on his first carry and also got stuffed on a third-and-short. His most memorable run was a 10-yarder in which he leveled a couple Raiders defenders before going down. I think the Colts are starting him off slowly, given that he's coming off an injury.

Spectacular start. Early on, this looked like a mismatch as Andrew Luck and the offense carved up the Raiders. Two drives produced back-to-back touchdowns, jolting the Colts off to a 14-0 lead. Luck's first touchdown pass to Ageless Reggie Wayne was a thing of beauty; his second TD pass involved a great move from Dwayne Allen. They were running the ball well, protecting Luck, and controlling the tempo. At first.

And then... The wheels fell off. On four straight drives, the Colts produced zero points, three punts, and a turnover on downs. All the while, the Raiders hit their stride, taking a shocking 17-14 lead. Luck was continually sacked (the Raiders dropped him four times), the Colts couldn't get anything going, and at one point faced a third and 31 thanks to a penalty and a sack. Not to the mention that the revamped defense struggled mightily.

The Big Miss. I can't understate how big Sebastian Janikowski's miss just before halftime was. Had he connected on that kick, the Raiders would've been able to kick a field goal at the end of the game. Instead, they needed a touchdown.

Take the free 20 yards, kid. I love Greg Toler. He's a guy who always seems to have his nose on the ball. After intercepting Terrelle Pryor, he decided to take the ball out of the endzone. The result? Vontae Davis got flagged for a low block, and the Colts were backed up at the 11. A touchback hurts no one.

He didn't have a carry, but he's still special. Donald Brown didn't run the ball or catch a pass, but he did make a nice tackle on special teams. When a guy like that--a former first-round pick--is willing to buy in for that, you've gotta like it.

Third drive's a charm. For the first two drives, the Raiders showed some flashes, but it was the third drive that signaled the Colts were in for a long afternoon. Pryor had runs of 9, 29, and 13 yards on the drive. The Raiders were so efficient--or the Colts defense so inept--that Oakland never even faced a third down on the scoring drive. At the end, after Darren McFadden squeezed his way into the endzone, it was apparent that we had a ballgame.

Not quite as #Boomstick as usual. The usually solid Pat McAfee had a pretty mediocre day by his standards. Three punts averaged 39 yards, including a 33-yard stinker that was his first boot of the day.

The end of the half was brutal. Just check out my notes on the Colts' and Raiders' final drives of the first half:

Fourth Colts drive

Reggie Wayne with a one-handed catch for two yards. Luck sacked on next play. Third and long forthcoming. Luck pass to right eludes leaping Darrius Heyward-Bey. First incompletion of the day for Luck. Back-to-back three and outs.

Fifth Raiders drive

Drive starts with poor tackling from Colts and a first down catch by tight end for 19 yards. Read option goes nowhere. Loss of three. Pryor misfires on second and long. Third and 13 now. Eight-yard pass brings out Janikowski for 48-yard attempt. Shanked it.

Sure they had four sacks, but they should've had five. In the Colts' first drive of the second half, Luck faced heavy pressure and should've been sacked. Instead, he somehow powered his way out of a sure tackle and got free for a 9-yard run that netted a first down. Think of the run as a preview of coming attractions.

Reggie Wayne. 8 catches, 96 yards, touchdown. That is all.

No Pryor restraint. The Indiana Hoosiers (basketball) had no idea Syracuse would use that 2-3 matchup zone last year. The Indiana Hoosiers (football) were surprised that Navy ran the option yesterday. The Indianapolis Colts appeared equally befuddled by Terrelle Pryor's ability to run. That's all the guy has. Seriously...did you see some of his attempts to throw downfield? The Colts seemed ill-prepared to face a running QB, something that doesn't bode well for future showdowns against Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick. Pryor ran 13 times for 112 yards.

Fourth and done. The Colts decided to go for a fourth and short just past midfield, a fantastic idea considering Ahmad Bradshaw got stuffed for no gain on third and short. The play call was some kind of rollout pass with Luck, but the Raiders were all over it and Luck got sacked for a 13-yard loss. The Raiders capitalized on the good field position by scoring a touchdown on the next drive. It was awesome.

Catching a break. Kind of. But not really. When Darren McFadden caught a long pass for a touchdown, Colts fans collectively slapped their foreheads. Then, they collectively screamed that McFadden didn't make the catch. A replay proved them right, but it didn't matter because the Colts defense failed to capitalize on the second chance and surrendered a touchdown later in the drive. Again, it was awesome.

"Pryor runs into old man, doesn’t get first down." My note on Terrelle Pryor's five-yard run on third and six, in which he ran over a game official while falling just short of the first down. The drive resulted in a Janikowski field goal.

Our quarterback can run, too! With the Colts trailing 17-14, Andrew Luck drove the team down the field. Facing third and 4 at the Raiders 19, he saw the middle of the field open up and sprinted 19 yards to the endzone. I breathed a sigh of relief.

He was BUTT OPEN. My brother often used this phrase to describe a receiver who was unbelievably uncovered. So, tight end Jerud Mastrud was butt open when he caught a 41-yard pass on the Raiders' final drive. Fortunately, Mastrud has cement in his feet and was tackled before he could go all the way.

Finally, some pressure. Robert Mathis finally got to Terrelle Pryor at a most opportune time, sacking him for a 16-yard loss and turning first and goal at the 8 to second and goal at the 24. Of all the good things Pryor did, it's mistakes like these that killed him. Similar situations included interceptions, some delay of game penalties and other instances of poor game management/awareness.

As it began, so it ended. Terrelle Pryor's first drive of the game ended with an interception. His last drive of the game ended with an interception. That's symmetry, baby.